Five Receive CalCPA Women to Watch Awards

The California Society of CPAs (CalCPA)[1] honored five CPAs September 27, 2012, with its Women to Watch Awards for 2012 during ceremonies at the "Women's Leadership Forum" at the Ritz-Carlton.

Mary Kay Foss and Lorna Padia Markus received the awards in the experienced leader category. Foss is a director with Sweeney Kovar, LLP, in Danville. Markus is a partner with Mowat Mackie & Anderson LLP, in Oakland.

Receiving awards in the emerging leaders category were Melanie Kidder and Dominique Molina. Kidder is a senior manager in accounting services at Frank, Rimerman & Co. LLP, in Palo Alto. Molina is president of the American Institute of Certified Tax Coaches, a San Diego not-for-profit corporation that provides training to tax specialists.

CalCPA honored Francine Vorhees with its Trailblazer Award, which recognizes an individual with a story so inspiring, it deserves its own category. A partner in the California Central Valley office of Moss Adams LLP, Vorhees is a leader in the firm's Forum_W program, which provides mentoring support for women within the firm. She also is involved with community-based organizations that help women, such as Dress for Success, and serves on the board of directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Northern California.

CalCPA selected the experienced and emerging leader recipients in partnership with the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the AICPA's Women's Initiatives Executive Committee. The Trailblazer Award was presented solely by CalCPA.

Criteria for both the emerging leader and experienced leader categories included community or public service. Candidates for the emerging leader award also were evaluated on their demonstration of leadership, contributions to the profession, creation and implementation of unique initiatives, and involvement with educational institutions. Additional criteria for the experienced leader category included authorship of articles, contributions to the CPA profession, and mentorship of other professionals.